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Draft for EPD-PCR Standard ver.1.0
Product-Category Rules (PCR)
for Preparing an Environmental Product
Declaration (EPD) of
Printed Circuit Board Assembly
PCR 2011:1.0
Lite-On Technology Corporation
Version 1.0
2011-08-11
Date: 2011-08-11

Table of Contents
1. General information
2. Company and product description
2.1 Product group function
2.2 Product components
2.3 Product technical description
3. List of materials and chemical substances
4. Declared unit
5. System boundaries
5.1 Specifications for different boundary settings
6. Cut-off rules
7. Allocation rules
8. Units
9. Calculation rules and data quality requirements
10. Parameters to be declared in the EPD
11. Recycling information
12. Other environmental information (Optional)
13. Information about the certification
14. References
Appendix I Generic data sources to refer to
Appendix II Reporting format for the EPD
Appendix III Abbreviations

1. General Information
This document is to be used as the product category rules (PCR) for the global production and
manufacturing of printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). The requirements specified in this PCR
are intended to be used for EPDs certified in accordance with ISO 14025 standard. This document
shall be valid until Jun 13, 2013.
This PCR was jointly prepared by Lite-On Technology Corporation and Taiwan Green
Productivity Foundation. Representatives from major Taiwanese manufacturers of similar
products and stakeholders were invited by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers
Association (TEEMA) to the open consultation meeting on May 19, 2011, to participate in the
discussion and review of this PCR. Environment and Development Foundation (EDF) then
reviewed and approved this PCR.
This PCR is applicable to products with the Harmonized System (HS) Code of 8471.60, 8471.80,
8473 or 8529.
For further information and comments concerning this PCR, please contact Ladios Liu, Green
Policy & System Support Center, System Solution Business Unit, LITE-ON TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATION (Tel : +886-2-2222-6181#3027 ; Fax : +886-2-2222-3559 ; email :
ladios.liu@liteon.com)。
2. Company and product description
The EPD shall include information about the manufacturing company/organization. The
information may include manufacturing process related information, and environmental related
information, such as the environmental management system information. The information may
also include special issues which the company/organization would like to emphasize, such as the
products meeting certain environmental criteria, or environmental safety and health related
information.
This PCR is applicable to both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C)
communications.
The products covered in this PCR also include their packaging.
(Note: B2B refers to operations or transactions among businesses, which only include part of the
product transactions, such as procurement, inventory management, payment, distribution and
technical support activities; while B2C refers to transactions or interactions between businesses
and their customers, which cover the whole product transaction process, including communicating
product information to customers or consumers, delivery of products through logistic system to
customers/consumers, and waste disposal for end-of-life products, etc.)
2.1 Product group function
The integrated circuit board assembly (PCBA) consists of a variety of electronic components
which are mounted onto the printed circuit board (PCB) through the use of soldering technology,
such as the surface mount technology (SMT) or wave soldering technology. The PCBA is capable
of linking electronic signals from these electronic components to form a single or composite
electronic signal computing platform, as well as connecting peripheral components, such as central

processing unit (CPU), LCD panel, hard disk drive, optical drive device, power supply, input and
output devices or other PCBA to form an electronic or electrical product.
2.2 Product components
In addition to the PCB, a PCBA may also include but not limited to the following main
components:
Active Components: e.g., integrated circuit (IC), transistor, diode, memory module;
Passive Components: e.g., resistor, inductor, capacitor;
Mechanical Components: e.g., connector, thermal module, protection/fixed components,
jumper;
Battery;
Cable;
Antenna module;
Packaging material.
Components not listed above are considered minor/secondary components, such as the user
manual or labels.
The data quality requirements for the main and secondary components are described in Section 9
on calculation rules and data quality requirements.
2.3 Product technical description
The product technical description part of the EPD shall include the following information:
Product Name and Type Code
Product Function Specification
PCB Specification: e.g., Rigid/flexibel board, layers, main materials, flammability
classification, etc.
Input/Output Interface Specification
Product Dimensions: L (mm)*W (mm)*H (mm)
Product Weight
Design Using Life or Guarantee Life
Others: e.g., operating voltage, working temperature, power rating, and application limitation.
3. List of materials and chemical substances
The contents of the following materials and substances in the product shall be declared:
- All materials of the product (excluding packaging material) with weight ratio (material
weight/product weight) ≥ 1%;

- All materials of the packaging with weight ratio (material weight/packaging weight) ≥ 1%;
- All materials/substances in the product (including packaging) regulated by legal and customer
requirements;
- The following materials in the product components: flame retardants, lead content in solder, lead
and flame retardant content in solder masking agent, and substances regulated by EU’s RoHS
Directive (the latest version).
The declaration of halogen-free flame retardants, lead-free solders and no RoHS-regulated
substances may only be made when appropriate evidences are available (for example, test reports
from accredited laboratories/testing facilities). The following organizations may provide
accreditation for testing facilities: Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF), (Asia Pacific
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), International Laboratory Accreditation
Cooperation (ILAC) or ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA). For definitions of
testing methodology and confirmations of regulated hazardous substances based on the accredited
laboratories’ product testing methods, please refer to IEC 62321 Standard.
4. Declared unit
The declared unit is one “piece” of PCBA, as the PCBA products are marketed and sold in such a
unit.
5. System boundaries
The main system boundaries for the declared product system are presented as follows:

Emission
Material
production/
extraction
energy
Waste/
scrap
Trpt
Figure 1 System boundary of the product system
As noted in Figure 1 above, if the EPD of a PCBA is used for B2B purpose, its life cycle only
covered two stages: raw material acquisition and product manufacturing. If the EPD is to be used
for B2C purpose, it will cover five stages of the product life cycle: raw material acquisition,
product manufacturing, distribution, product use and waste disposal.
Raw Materials Acquisition and Manufacturing Stage
The LCA shall include information for the following unit processes:
─ Material extraction and manufacturing of main components and other components;
─ The production/generation of energy used for raw material manufacturing.
The inclusion in the LCA the information on the forming and refining of raw materials and
transportation of raw materials is of voluntary reporting nature.
Manufacturing Stage
The LCA shall include information for the following unit processes:
─ Manufacturing of main components and transportation of process waste to waste disposal
plants;
─ Assembly of products and transportation of process waste to waste disposal plants;
─ Transportation of main components to PCBA manufacturing site.
The inclusion in the LCA the information on the input/output of packaging material during main
components manufacturing process and the manufacturing of minor/secondary components/parts
is of voluntary reporting nature.
Distribution Stage
Material
forming/
refining
Material
acquisition phase
Trpt
Trpt
Emission
Manufacturing
of main
components
energy
Waste/
scrap
auxiliary
material
Manufacturing
of other
components
mandatory inclusion
Voluntary inclusion
Trpt
emission
Trpt
Manufacturing
phase
Waste/
scrap
Assembly
Of PCBA
emission Waste/
scrap
emission emission
Trpt Trpt Trpt
Marketing of
PCBA
energy energy energy energy
auxiliary
material
Mandatory inclusion of energy
consumption
Trpt = transportation
auxiliary
material
Marketing phase
PCBA
use
Use phase
Trpt
Waste/
scrap
PCBA waste
disposal
auxiliary
material
Waste
Disposal
phase

The LCA shall include information for the following unit processes:
- Products’ distribution transportation.
Besides the distribution transportation, the inclusion in the LCA the information on the
input/output of all energy/resources and waste generation/discharge and transportation of
marketers during the distribution stage are of voluntary reporting nature.
(Note: The distribution transportation means the shipping of products to logistics centers, retailers
or customer designated locations; while marketing transportation means the transportation from
terminal sites of the distribution stage to the sites where end-users or customers obtain the
products.
Use Stage
As PCBA is a main component of electrical and electronic products, its energy consumption shall
be calculated according to the assumed usage scenario of the end products which the PCBA is a
part of, and based on the applicable industrial or international testing standards. The following
energy consumption equation may be used:
Energy consumption of PCBA (kWh) = (input power (W) – output power (W)) X design life of
PCBA X 0.001 (kW/W)
The inclusion in the LCA the information on the product maintenance during use stage, and
transportation of waste to waste disposal site during end-of-life stage is of voluntary reporting
nature.
Recycling/end-of-life Stage
The reporting of recycling information (such as recycling and dis-assembly report and information
on recycling channels) is mandatory in the EPD. Also, the environmental impact shall be
calculated based on the declared recycling rate.
5.1 Specification of different boundary settings
Boundary in time
The validity period for the LCA results presented in the LCA report shall be defined.
Boundary towards nature
If the manufacturing processes are located within Taiwan, the solid waste categories as defined in
Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act shall be adopted. If the processes are located in other countries,
equivalent legal requirements shall be considered.
The natural boundary of the system shall describe the boundary where the materials and energy
resources flow from nature into the system, and where the water and air emissions and waste are
released out of the system.
Only the waste which is required to be disposed of needs to be considered; landfilling process does
not need to be included. If the waste will be treated through water treatment or incineration, these
processes need to be included.

Boundaries in the life cycle
The boundaries in the product life cycle are described in Figure 1. The construction of the site and
infrastructure, as well as the production of manufacturing equipment and activities of the workers,
does not need to be included.
Boundaries towards other technical systems
Boundaries towards other technical systems describe the inputs of material and other components
towards other systems, as well as outputs of materials towards other systems. For the inputs of
recycled materials and energy towards the product manufacturing stage, the transportation
between the recycling process and use of recycled materials shall be included in the data set. For
the production of recyclable products during the manufacturing stage, the transportation towards
the recycling process shall be included.
(Note: Further explanations are provided in Section 7 on open-loop recycling)
Boundaries regarding geographical coverage
The manufacturing stage may cover manufacturing processes located on any sites around the
world. For processes located in a specific region, the data used should be representative of the
region. The data for the main components shall be the specific regional data for the region where
the process takes place (see Section 9). For ease of comparison, no matter where the emissions are
generated, the same environmental impact parameters should be used for life cycle impact
assessment (see Section 10).
6. Cut-off rules
For any impact category, if the sum of various impacts from a specific process/activity is less than
1% of the impact equivalent in that category, such a process/activity may be neglected during the
inventory analysis. Nonetheless, the accumulated impact of neglected process/activity may not
exceed 5%. Components and materials omitted from the LCA shall be documented.
(Note: This judgment for this “1% Rule” is based on the environment relevance assessment of
material input to the system, and does not consider special and exceptional environmental
impacts.)
7. Allocation rules
The main allocation rules shall be valid for the entire product system. For other secondary
processes, other allocation rules may be defined; however, the use of these rules should be
justified. Product-specific information should be preferentially collected in order to avoid the need
for allocation. While selecting allocation rules, the following principles are recommended.
- Multi-output: The allocations are based on the changes in the resource consumption and
pollutant emissions (for example, adopted quantity allocation for some main component, or
surface allocation for some components), following the changes in the studied system’s output
product or function or economical relationship.
- Multi-input: The allocation is based on actual relationship. For example, the manufacturing
process’s emissions may be affected by the change in waste flow input.

- Open loop recycling: For the input of recycled materials or energy during the manufacturing
stage of the product system, the transportation between the recycling process and the recycling
to material use shall be included in the dataset. For the product which shall be recycled during
the manufacturing stage, the transportation towards the recycling process shall be included.
Notes:
- Allocation may be avoided through avoidance of dividing processes, for example as described in
Section 6.3 of ISO/TR 14049; or through expansion of system boundary (for example as
described in Section 6.4), so that the amended system shares the same product exchanges as
the original system.
8. Units
The base units and derived units of the International System of Units (SI, Système International
d'unités) shall be used preferentially.
Power & energy units:
- power unit: W
- energy unit: J
Specification units:
- length unit: m
- capacity unit: m 3
- area unit: m 2
- weight unit: kg
If necessary, prefixes may be used before the SI units.
10 9 = giga, symbol “G”
10 6 = mega, symbol “M”
10 3 = kilo, symbol “k”
10 -2 = centi, symbol “c”
10 -3 = milli, symbol “m”
10 -6 = micro, symbol “µ”
10 -9 = nano, symbol “n”
9. Calculation rules and data quality requirements
Date quality requirements for the raw material acquisition stage
- Generic data may be used for the acquisition, production, forming and refining of raw
materials used for the components of the PCBA products. Please refer to Appendix I for the
common sources of generic data. The date of the generic data used can not be older than 1990.
Date quality requirements for the manufacturing stage
- Site specific data (for example, specific process data for SMT or wave soldering process) shall
be used for the manufacturing of components and assembly of the PCBA product. If other
types of information are used, description of the information and rationale for using the
information shall be provided. Data from a representative manufacturing site of a specific main
component may be used as the site specific data for that component.

- Generic data may be used for the manufacturing process for the packaging material and
secondary/minor components of the PCBA products which are calculated based on the actual
consumption of such materials. Please refer to Appendix I for the common sources of generic
data. The date of the generic data used can not be older than 1990.
- When generic data are used, the equivalence between the chemical and/or physical process of
referred systems shall be considered. The system referred in the generic data should have
equivalent technology and system boundaries with the declared product system. Moreover, it is
also recommended to consider the date or geographic aspects of the data quality.
- Generic data may also be used when suppliers refuse to provide specific data, or when even if
generic data are used in place of specific data, there is only minor impact to the results. The
general rule is that if generic data are used in place of specific data, their combined
contribution for all life cycle stages shall not be greater than 20% of total impacts for each
impact category. But there may be certain exception to specific products, and such exceptions
shall be explained.
- The data shall be representative for the average of a specific year. If the average data for a
specific year can not be obtained, the average data for a specific time period may be used. But
the data shall be representative, and the reason for using such data shall be provided.
- The electricity mix for the manufacturing stage should be site specific data. If site specific data
cannot be obtained, the official electricity mix for the country where the site is located may be
used as approximate value. The electricity mix should be documented.
- For the definition of hazardous waste, the definition as defined in Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act
shall be used for sites located in Taiwan. For sites located outside Taiwan, legal requirements
for the host country shall be observed.
- For the transportation of main components to the PCBA assembly plant, the actual
transportation modes used and distance traveled shall be considered.
Date quality requirements for the distribution and marketing stage
- For the transportation of PCBAs to the distribution sites or retailer sites, the actual mode of
transportation and distance traveled shall be considered.
Date quality requirements for the use stage
- The energy consumption of the PCBA shall be determined based on testing methodology
stipulated in applicable international or industrial standards.
- For the electricity mix for the use stage, the official electricity mix for the country where the
PCBA is exported may be used as approximate value. Please refer to Appendix I for the
common sources of generic data. The date of the generic data used can not be older than 1990.
Date quality requirements for the recycling/end-of-life stage
- Generic data may be used during the recycling/end-of-life stage, if for specific reason the site
specific data for the recycling/waste disposal system can not be obtained. Then generic data and
recycling rate may be used to calculate environmental impact. Please refer to Appendix I for the
common sources of generic data. The date of the generic data used can not be older than 1990.

10. Parameters to be declared in the EPD
The following parameters shall be declared in the EPD:
1. Energy use
- The energy consumption during each stage shall be declared. If the EPD is to be used for B2C
communication, based on the description of use stage in the system boundary, the energy
usage scenario for end-product use and adopted testing methodology as well as applicable
industrial or international standards shall be declared.
- The following units shall be used preferentially:
kW or W for power; J or MJ for energy.
2. Resource use
The information on resource input within the system boundary shall be declared.
3. Impact equivalents expressed as potential environmental impacts
-Global warming kg CO2 equivalent
-Acidification kg SO2 equivalent
-Photochemical oxidant formation kg C2H4 equivalent
-Eutrophication kg PO4 3- equivalent
-Ozone depletion kg CFC-11 equivalent
Note: For characterization factors of each impact category, please refer to EPD Supporting
Annexes, Version 1.0 (2008-02-29), The International EPD Cooperation, downloadable from
www.environdec.com.
4. Additional information
- Recyclable materials (optional)
- Information on secondary materials (optional)
- Waste (classification):
- Hazardous waste as defined in Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act. Follow host countries’
laws for sites outside Taiwan.
- Other waste.
- Plastic parts marking
Where technologically possible, plastic parts of the PCBA weighing ≧ 25 g shall be
marked in accordance with the ISO 11469 and ISO 1043 Part 1/2/3/4, SPI or other
international standard label to facilitate their identification and recovery at the end of life.
- Plastic packaging materials marking
The Plastic packaging materials shall be labeled on the parts with SPI or other
international standards for ease of sorting.

11. Recycling information
The recycling information shall include information such as dis-assembly instructions, which
parts/components are suitable for recycling (such as metals) or not suitable for recycling. The
information which the EU WEEE Directive requires the end product manufacturer to provide may
also be included in the product declaration information for PCBA products.
If feasible, information for the parts which can not be recycled and therefore should be disposed of
properly during the end-of-life stage may also be included.
12. Other environmental information (Optional)
The EPD may cover information including technology adopted, site of product manufacturing and
assembly, as well as information on other working environment, health and risk-related aspects.
If this PCR is to be used for product carbon footprint declaration purpose, in the declaration,
information regarding commitment on GHG reduction should be included and shall ensure that the
commitment is measurable, reportable and verifiable. The organization may also list
environmental and energy management related information, such as awards, commendations and
system certifications (e.g., ISO 14001, ISO 14064-1, IECQ HSPM) etc.

13. Information about the certification
The information on PCR review, EPD verification and verification organization shall be included.
EPD Certification is valid until 201_-__-__
According to the Requirements for the international EPD system. General Programme Instructions, Version 1
(2008) – www.environdec.com
The PCR review for ________________ (PCR 201_: ) was administered by the Environment and
Development Foundation and carried out by an LCA expert panel chaired by Dr. Ning Yu (ningyu@edf.org.tw).
Independent verification of the declaration, according to ISO 14025:2006
□ Internal ■ External
Third party verifier: Environment and Development Foundation in Taiwan.
Accredited by :
Name:
Title:
Organization: Signature:_______________
Name:
Title:
Organization: Signature:________________
Name:
Title:
Organization: Signature:________________
Environmental declarations from different programmes may not be comparable.

14. References
The EPD shall make reference to the following documents:
- EPD General Program Instructions, Version 1.0 (2008-02-29), The International EPD
Cooperation, downloadable from http://www.environdec.com/;
- Relevant PCR documents;
- The underlying LCA report.
When available, the following documents shall also be referenced:
- Other documents and recycling instructions which verify and complement the EPD.

Appendix I – Generic Data Sources to Refer to
For processes located within Taiwan, Taiwan generic data or the data published by the commercial,
industrial and energy competent authorities of the Republic of China (ROC) government, may be
used. However, for other regions (such as EU), if there are more relevant generic data available,
these data should be used instead.
When data from the following generic databases are used, the most current and updated data
should be used:
Material Database Published
Industrial processes Ecoinvent 2nd edition 2007
Packing materials, BUWAL 250, 2nd edition 2004
transport, waste
treatments Ecoinvent 2nd edition 2007
PE-GaBi 2006
Steel, Primary copper,
Copper
ELCD version 2.0 2009
products, Electricity, Ecoinvent 2nd edition 2007
Fuels,
Aluminium, Chemicals, The Boustead Model 5.0 2007
Transports, Waste
management,
EIME (Environmental Information and
Management Explorer) EcoBilan
1998-2000
Plastics
Electronic components
PE Plastics Europe (Association of
Plastics Manufacturers in Europe)
PE-GaBi 2006
ELCD 2009
Ecoinvent 2nd edition 2007
The Boustead Model 5.0 2007
EIME (Environmental Information and
Management Explorer) EcoBilan
PE-GaBi 2006
ELCD 2009
Ecoinvent 2nd edition 2007
The Boustead Model 5.0 2007
EIME (Environmental Information and
Management Explorer) EcoBilan
1993-1998
1998-2000
1998-2000

Appendix II – Reporting Format for the EPD
This appendix provides guidance information for the titles of sections, types of data
and required information to be reported in the mandatory reporting part of the EPD.
As a generic reporting template, the following titles and sub-titles are recommended:
(Refer to the PCR manual for the section numbering, the information in Italics are the
recommended data/information for inclusion)
Introductory part
Each EPD should have an introduction part on the top part of the EPD which includes
the following information:
- Company/organization name
- Product name
- EPD registration number
Description of the company/organization and product/service
Company/Organization
- Description of company/organization
- Description of overall working environment, existing quality system and
environmental management system
Product and services (see Section 2)
- Product’s main applications
- Description of product specification, manufacturing process,
manufacturing sites (if there are several sites)
- For product’s environmental performance aspects, characteristics which
may improve the usefulness of product
- Other types of relevant information, for example, special manufacturing
processes with special advantages to the environment
List of materials and chemical substances
- Content declaration (see Section 3)
Presentation of the environmental performance
- Outline of the LCA methodology, for example, period of LCA, declared units,
system boundaries (graphical presentation), cut-off and allocation rules, and
data sources.

Manufacturing stage (see Section 10)
Use stage (see Section 10)
-Geographical region for product delivery
-Transportation data
-End-of-life information
Information about Company and Certification Organization
Recycling information (see Section 11)
Other environmental information (see Section 12)
Information regarding certification
- Names of certification and verification organizations
- Validity of certification certificates
- Compliance with legal and relevant requirements
References (see Section 14)
- relevant PCR documents
- EPD General Program Instructions, Version 1.0 (2008-02-29)
- underlying LCA study
- other supporting documents for LCA information
- other relevant documents regarding company/organization’s
environmental activities

Appendix III Abbreviations
Acronyms Common Name
APLAC Asia Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
B2B Business to Business
B2C Business to Consumer or Business to Customer
CFP Carbon Footprint of Products
CPU Central Processing Unit
ELCD European Reference Life Cycle Database
EPD Environmental Product Declaration
GHG Greenhouse Gas
HS Code Harmonized System Code
HSPM hazardous substance process management
IC Integrated Circuit
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
ILAC International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
ILAC MAR International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
Mutual Recognition Arrangement
ISO International Organization for Standardization
LCA Life Cycle Assessment
PCB Printed Circuit Board
PCBA Printed Circuit Board Assembly
PCR Product Category Rule
RoHS The Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in
electrical and electronic equipment
SI Système international d'unités (French)
SMT Surface Mount Technology
SPI Society of the Plastics Industry
TAF Taiwan Accreditation Foundation
WEEE The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive